Fire extinguisher acid bottle support



Nov. 5, 1968 A. H. KOCH FIRE EXTINGUISHER ACID BOTTLE SUPPORT Filed July 5, 1966 Q/NVENTOR ARNOLD H. KOCH ATTORNEYS United States Pate'nt O 3,409,086 FIRE EXTINGUISHER ACID BOTTLE SUPPORT Arnold H. Koch, Arlington Heights, 11]., assignor to The General Fire Extinguisher Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed July 5, 1966, Ser. No. 562,727 Claims. (Cl. 169-32) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An acid bottle support for gravity operated fire extinguisher tanks is provided in the form of an integrally molded plastic frame structure having a top annular ring dimensioned to seat on an annular internal ledge in the upper opening of the tank. Elongated supports depend downwardly from the ring to terminate in split collar halves for encircling the neck of the acid bottle. The annular ring is warped slightly to bow in such a manner that when the cap of the extenguisher is pressed down on the inner annular ledge of the upper opening, the annular ring of the support is compressed urging the collar halves closer together to thereby securely grip the neck of the acid bottle and support it within the extinguisher in proper spaced relationship for operation.

This invention relates generally to fire extinguishers and more particularly to an improved acid bottle support for gravity operated type fire extinguisher tanks.

Fire extinguishers of the type under consideration include a pressure tank incorporating a bottle filled with acid such as sulfuric acid. The bottle is supported adjacent to the upper interior portion of the tank in an upright position and closed off by a Weighted plug which fits loosely in the bottle neck when the tank is upright. In operating the tank, the entire tank is turned upside down so that the plug falls partially away from the bottle neck and the contents of the bottle are metered from the bottle to react with suitable chemicals within the tank and thereby create a gas pressurizing the tank.

Heretofore, the acid bottle has been supported by a metal cage structure in its desired position. This cage structure usually includes wire supports which extend down the sides of the bottle and under the base of the bottle. The upper ends of the wire supports terminate in an annular ring of somewhat larger diameter than the bottle and spaced a given distance above the neck of the bottle. This ring, in turn, is arranged to seat on an annular ledge formed on the inner neck of the fire extinguisher tank itself and is retained in place by the conventional wheel cap structure when the same is threaded onto the tank neck.

In bottle supports of the foregoing type, it has been found that in inserting or removing the bottle from the caging structure, certain exterior surface portions of the bottle may become scratched. These portions of the bottle glass are thus weakened and it has b en found that the strong acid contained within the bottle can actually destroy the glass at these scratched or weakened points, In addition, the acid itself is of a highly corrosive nature and fumes from the acid can corrode the wire caging structure and thereby weaken the bottle support.

Another problem contributing to the foregoing difficulties is the nature of the cage structure itself. Since this cage structure receives the entire bottle, and since it is necessary to support the bottle in its upside down position in spaced relationship to the top of the tank in order that the contents of the bottle may be properly metered, the wire caging structure must include a reduced diameter portion to engage the upper sloping shoulders of the bottle. This portion must then be expanded when the bottle is inserted in the caging structure. It is in this action that scratching of the bottle or other types of damage may occur to the glass. In addition, this type of structure renders it somewhat time consuming and difficult to insert or remove 'bottles for replacement,

Finally, when a caging structure of the type in the prior art is employed, the necessary resilient nature of the caging to enable insertion of the bottle can also result in vertical displacement of the neck of the bottle with respect to the upper end of the tank. In consequence, a change may occur in the desired metered rate of flow of acid from the bottle when the tank is turned upside down. As a result, the desired mixing action of the acid with ingredients in the tank may not take place consistently.

Some of the foregoing problems have been overcome by substituting a molded member of resilient rubber or plastic for the wire caging structure. This molded member is provided with threads at one end for connection to the bottle neck threads and terminates at its other end in a suitable flange structure held by the wheel cap of the extinguisher. However, there has been difliculty in adequately supporting the bottle by a threaded connection. Unless very close tolerances are maintained, the bottle can become loose. Such close tolerances as are required increase the manufacturing expense.

In addition, the threading of the support to the bottleneck with close tolerances also renders it time consuming and difiicult to insert or remove bottles for replacement.

With all of the foregoing considerations in mind, it is accordingly a primary object of this invention to provide an improved acid bottle support for tank type fire extinguishers which obviates the foregoing difiiculties.

More particularly, it is an object to provide a bottle support which in no way will cause any damage to the bottle to the end that weakening of glass portions of the bottle is avoided.

Another object is to provide an acid bottle support which is formed of plastic material so that corrosion problems are wholly eliminated.

Still another object is to provide an improved acid bottle support which will properly locate the bottle Within the upper interior portion of the tank and maintain the bottle in axial spaced relationship with respect to the top of the tank so that consistent operation of the extinguisher is realized.

Other objects of this invention are to provide an improved acid bottle support for gravity operated fire extinguisher tanks which is extremely simple to insert or remove from the tank and also extremely simple to couple or uncouple from the bottle and yet is so designed that a positive engagement to the bottle is assured so that the 'bottle will be supported in a proper and consistent position.

Another object is to provide an improved acid bottle support which does not require for its use any modification of conventional gravity operated fire extinguisher tanks.

Briefly, these and many other objects and advantages of this invention are attained by providing a bottle support in the form of an integral plastic structure including a top ring having a peripheral lip arranged to seat on the annular ledge defined in the upper interior neck portion of a conventional fire extinguisher tank. Elongated supports integrally extend from the ring to a lower spaced split collar member defining a central opening adapted to expand to receive the neck and shoulder portion of an acid bottle. The elongated supports hold the lower collar and therefore the bottle in fixed axial and spaced relationship with respect to the upper flat ring and therefore with respect to the upper opening in the tank.

An important feature of this invention relates to the flexible design of the annular top ring and elongated supports integrally extending from the ring to the lower collar halves making up the split collar structure. The design is such that the annular ring is bowed slightly when the collar halves are engaged around the neck of the bottle beneath the conventional annular bead formed at the base of the threads of the bottle neck. When the annular ring is in place and the wheel cap of the extinguisher tightened, the bow is removed thereby automatically causing a tightening of the collar halves about the neck. The depth of the collar halves is such that their engagement under the neck bead when the bottle neck is fully received through the central opening defined by the collar halves, serves to hold the bottle in axial alignment with the top opening in the extinguisher regardless of the external orientation of the extinguisher.

A better understanding of the invention will be had by now referring to the preferred embodiment thereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a portion of a gravity operated fire extinguisher tank, the conventional wheel cap cover for the tank, the acid bottle, and the improved support therefor in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged cross-section of the support useful in explaining certain features of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is a bottom plan view of the support; and,

FIGURE 4 is a partial cross-section of the major portions of the tank, bottle, and support means therefor all in assembled relationship.

Referring first to the lower portion of FIGURE 1 there is shown a conventional gravity operated fire extinguisher tank having an externally threaded neck 11 including an internal annular ledge 12. This ledge serves to support a conventional type wire cage (not shown) which in turn carries an acid bottle 13 shown in exploded view above the tank 10.

The acid bottle 13 is provided with a weighted plug 14 which fits loosely in the neck of the bottle to close off the top when the bottle 13 is in an upright position. A gasket 15 and wheel cap 16 in turn are arranged to fit over' the cage support for the bottle to secure the bottle within the tank 10.

All of the foregoing elements described thus far are entirely conventional.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided an improved support for the bottle 13 which may be used with the elements described without any modification thereof.

Referring to the central portion of FIGURE 1 this support includes a top annular ring 17 provided with an annular lip 18 dimensioned to seat on the annular ledge 12 of the tank 10. Lower split collar halves 19 and 20 of smaller diameter than the fiat ring 17 are held in spaced coaxial relationship with the ring 17 by integrally formed elongated supports 21 and 22 respectively. Preferably,

the supports converge inwardly towards each other to integrally connect with the collar halves 19 and 20 at diametrically opposite portions as shown.

With reference to FIGURE 2, the collar halves themselves define a central opening 23 having inner tapered or beveled wall portions 24 and 25 at their lower ends.

7 These tapered portions serve a dual function.

First, they permit easy insertion of the collar halves over the neck threads 26 and bead 27 of the bottle 13 shown in FIGURE 1, when inserting the support over the upper end of the neck threads.

Second, they define inclined surfaces for engaging the shoulder portions 28 of the bottle. In this latter respect, the depth of the opening 23 defined by the collar halves is such that the bottle shoulder 28 is engaged by the tapered surfaces 24 and 25 when the undersurface of the head 27 is engaged by the upper inner peripheral edges 29 and 30 of the collar halves. This inter-engagement will become clearer when the operation of the invention is described.

Still referring to FIGURE 2, it will be noted that that when the collar halves are initially positioned about the bottleneck shown in dotted lines, the plane of the upper annular ring 17 is bowed slightly as indicated by the dashed line 31. This bowing is a result of making the diameter of the opening 23 slightly smaller than the external diameter of the neck of the bottle so that the supports 21 and 22 are spread apart a small degree when the halves are positioned about the neck. Pressure on the ring tending to force it into an horizontal plane will thus cause a tightening of the collar halves about the neck. The purpose for this design will also become clearer when the operation is described.

Referring now to the bottom plan view of FIGURE 3, it will be noted that the opposing ends of the half collar portions 19 and 20 are beveled as at 32 and 33 and as at 34 and 35. By this design, it is possible to insert the support onto the bottle neck from the side by simply urging the neck portion beneath the bead 27 between the beveled end surfaces 32, 33, or the beveled end surfaces 34 and 35.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, the manner in which the bottle 13 is supported by the support member will be clear. First, the collar halves 19 and 20 of the support are snapped around the bottle neck below the head 27 by either urging the central opening 23 over the top threads 26 or urging the bottle sidewise between the side openings of the collar halves as described. The support and bottle are then assembled in the tank 10.

Thus, as shown in FIGURE 4, the annular lip 18 of the top ring 17 is sandwiched between the annular ledge 12 of the tank neck and the gasket 15. The gasket 15 in turn is held in sealing relationship with the top of the tank neck by the wheel cap 16 which is shown threaded in position on the neck threads 11.

It will be clear that the elongated support elements at 21 and 22 properly space the lower collar halves with the central opening relative to the top of the extinguisher such as to support the bottle 13 at a given spacing. The received position of the bottle neck in the collar halves is determined by the engagement of the tapered portions 24 and 25 at the bottom of the lower opening 23 with the shoulder 28 of the bottle and the engagement of the underside of the bead 27 by the upper edges 29 and 30 of the opening 23. Thus, the depth design of the collar halves serves to lock the collar halves to the bottle neck to assure the bottle remains in a given axial position.

The foregoing locking action is increased as a consequence of the engagement and pressure of the wheel cap and gasket on the top surface of the annular ring 17. As described, this pressure in the direction of the arrows 36 and 37 removes the bow in the ring as shown in FIGURE 2 thereby causing the collar halves 19 and 20 to move towards each other and more tightly grip the bottle neck. This latter action is indicated by the arrows 38 and 39.

With the bottle properly supported as illustrated in FIGURE 4, the extinguisher may be operated in a conventional manner by turning the same upside down so that the weighted plug 14 will drop from the neck of the bottle and the acid contents of the bottle will meter out through the supporting structure elements such as 21 and 22 to intermix with chemicals in the tank and generate gas to place the tank under proper discharging pressure.

The support itself is preferably integrally formed from plastic materials so that it will not scratch or mar the bottle. Further, by using a plastic material which is inert to the particular acid incorporated in the bottle, corrosion problems are avoided. The entire support assembly may be manufactured extremely economically, will retain its shape to support the bottle in a proper axial position relative to the top opening of the tank, and is very easy to couple and uncouple from the bottle.

From the foregoing description, it will thus be evident that the present invention has provided a greatly improved acid bottle support for gravity operated type fire extinguisher tanks. While a detailed description of applicants preferred embodiment of the support has been shown and described, the invention is not to be thought of as limited to the exact structure disclosed. Thus, minor variations in the structure falling within the scope and spirit of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. In a gravity operated fire extinguisher tank having a wheel cap and externally threaded neck for receiving the cap and wherein said neck includes an annular internal ledge co-operating with said cap for securing a cage for an acid bottle disposed adjacent to the upper interior of said tank, said acid bottle having an externally threaded neck and an annular bead below the threads of said neck, an improved acid bottle support for use in lieu of said cage, comprising: a top annular ring having an annular peripheral lip dimensioned to seat on said ledge; a lower split collar of lesser diameter than said ring formed of first and second collar halves defining a central opening for receiving the neck of said acid bottle; and first and second elongated supports integrally connected to and extending downwardly from said annular ring in converging relationship to connect to said collar halves at diametrically opposite portions to hold said split collar in coaxial, spaced alignment with said ring, said annular ring being bowed slightly when said collar halves engage about the neck of said bottle whereby they are urged into tight engagement with said neck upon flattening of said ring by pressing engagement of said wheel cap on said ring when seated on said ledge so that said bottle is held in a given axial position in said acid bottle support.

2. The subject matter of claim 1, in which said top ring, collar halves, and elongated supports are all integrally formed of plastic material.

3. The subject matter of claim 1, in which said collar halves include tapered wall portions at the lower end of said central opening for seating on the shoulder of said bottle when the undersurface of said bead is engaged by the upper edges of said opening.

4. The subject matter of claim 3, in which the opposed ends of said collar halves are tapered to enable reception of said bottle neck from the side through the spacing defined by said ends.

5. In a gravity operated fire extinguisher tank having a cap and upper opening for receiving the cap and wherein said opening includes an annular ledge, said tank being adapted to incorporate an acid bottle, an improv d acid bottle support, comprising: a top annular ring having an annular peripheral lip dimensioned to seat on said ledge; a lower split collar of lesser diameter than said ring formed of first and second collar halves defining a central opening for receiving the neck of said acid bottle; and elongated support means integrally connect d to and extending downwardly from said annular ring to connect to said collar halves, said annular ring being bowed slightly when said collar halves engage about the neck of said bottle whereby said collar halves are urged into tight engagement with said neck upon flattening of said ring by pressing engagement of said cap on said ring when seated on said ledge so that said bottle is securely held in said acid bottle support.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 32,067 12/1911 Norway.

STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, Primary Examiner. 

